Chapter 1: The Battle of the Teddies

June 2009

"Ryan, Kyle, Taylor, Tara! Come on down here for breakfast!" Hali called as she flipped a pancake on the griddle.

Hali looked up as she heard small feet pounding the stairs and four small figures enter the kitchen. "Mommy, what's for breakfast?" Ryan asked, climbing in his chair. As four, he was the oldest of the Mutou clan, he was the natural leader.

"Pancakes for my big boys' birthday." Hali smiled, bringing a large stack of pancakes on a plate over to the table. "They're hot so be careful." Hali warned as the other three got into their chairs.

"They smell good, Mommy." Taylor piped up, rubbing her eye. At three, her deep red hair stood out in a cloud around her head.

"Thanks, baby." Hali kissed the top of her head as she went back to the fridge. She brought back syrup and butter, placing it on the table.

Atem entered the kitchen to choruses of "Morning Daddy!" "Hey, kids." He greeted sleepily, going over to Hali. He gave her a kiss before giving each kid a kiss. "Any more coffee?"

"In the coffee pot." Hali answered, sitting down at the table. Spotting Ryan with his elbows on the table, she said sternly, "How many times have I told you about that?"

"Sorry, Mommy." Ryan moved his elbows.

Atem poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table opposite Hali. He perked up quickly as he drank it. "When are the others coming over today?"

"Darien's coming?" Ryan perked up.

"He might," Hali smirked at him. "After all, isn't it someone's birthday?"

"You remembered!" Ryan seemed delighted. He turned to his twin, who sat beside him. The boy looked exactly like him in his Kuriboh pajamas. "You right."

"They're doing that again." Atem sighed, as Kyle nodded.

"Silent communication." Hali sighed, shaking her head. "It's like they know what the other's saying. Spill it boys, say it out loud."

"Kyle said he wanted to play hide and seek with Darien when they get here." Ryan explained.

Atem laughed as the phone rang. "I'll go answer it."

Atem went to the phone and answered it. "Mutou residence."

"It's Ishizu. You mind changing Ryan and Kyle's party to the mansion?"

"And risk giving your husband an aneurysm? Sure. What's up?" Atem asked, leaning against the counter.

"I want to see my niece and nephew, of course. And I'm sure Marik wants to see Isaiah too." Ishizu pointed out. "Let me deal with Seto."

"All right, what time do you want us there?" Atem asked, amused.

"Around noon. Just ring the doorbell and a maid will let you in." Ishizu promised. "I'll have it set up in the back yard."

"Sounds like a plan. See you then." Atem said goodbye and hung up.

"What did Ishizu want?" Hali guessed.

"How did you know?" Atem looked surprised.

"What other 'husband' would you give an aneurysm?" Hali raised an eyebrow.

"Good point." Atem laughed. "Ishizu wanted us to move the party to the mansion so she could see her niece and nephew."

"We can do that. But what about Kaiba?" Hali asked, concerned. "We don't want Joey to get into a fight in front of the kids."

"Ishizu said she would handle Kaiba." Atem explained. "We just need to be there about noon."

"All right. Kids, finish your breakfast and get dressed. We're going to go to the mansion for your party."

The kids finished their breakfast and ran upstairs.

Atem and Hali arrived at the mansion with the kids and rang the doorbell. They were ushered inside and to the backyard where Hailey, Yugi, and Alisa were there already. Alisa was three and a half and a spitting image of her mother. "Hi, Kyle." She said shyly, waving at her friend.

"Hi, Alisa." Kyle said shyly, giving her a quick hug.

"Aw, they're adorable together." Atem smiled, giving Yugi a quick hug. "He kind of reminds me of you."

"And Ryan reminds me of you, Atem. A confident kid even at that age." Yugi chuckled.

Atem snorted. "I hope he doesn't come into his confidence too early. It can be trouble."

An all blond family exited the house into the backyard heading for them and the tall male waved at them, "Hey Yuge, Atem!" Joey called.

"Joey!" Yugi called back, waving.

"Hey, Jo, hey Luke." Atem greeted, nodding to the twins.

"Hi, Unkie Atem." Joanna greeted, grinning up at Atem. She hugged his knees. She looked like Luna except she had big brown eyes.

Luke looked just like Joey except he had big blue eyes. "Hi Unkie Atem." He greeted, grinning up at Atem.

Another blond family arrived this time with one blond toddler who looked just like his father. "Hi, Josh." Atem greeted, smiling down at the boy.

"Hi," Josh greeted toothily.

Seth and Kisara finally arrived and with little brown-haired twin toddlers. "Hi, Darien and Sarah." Atem greeted, touching their cheeks.

Loretta and Marik arrived with their blond twins. Marika had eyes the color of the sky at dusk and Mankaura had lilac eyes like his father's.

Seto arrived home, suspicious by the number of cars. "Ishizu who is here? Why are all those cars here?" he demanded, annoyed.

"Don't be mad but I invited my brother and everyone else. Be nice for the sake of the kids, okay? It's not good to see you fight with them." Ishizu pointed out.

"Fine, for the sake of my son, I'll be nice to them." Seto sighed. "Go get Mokuba and Isaiah and we'll go greet our guests."

Seto and Ishizu took Isaiah and went outside with Mokuba. Ishizu served food and they passed out gifts for Ryan and Kyle. The boys got toys and clothes.

"These two are from Mommy and Daddy, boys." Hali explained, handing each boy a large wrapped box. "We thought you'd like them."

Ryan and Kyle unwrapped their box and squealed with delight. Ryan held up a large black bear with a blue ribbon while Kyle held up a brown bear with a red ribbon on it. "I love it!" they squealed.

"You know, Yami means darkness in Japanese, so that would be a good name for it." Hali suggested it to Ryan. "And Kyle, you could call it Atem because it's like Daddy's skin color."

"Temmy!" Kyle hugged the bear.

Atem turned pink at the nickname while the others laughed. "I guess that's okay, he probably can't say my name properly."

"That's a good nickname for you, Atem. Temmy." Joey teased.

"My son can use it because he can't pronounce it. You can." Atem growled, giving him a threatening look over his son's head.

"Calm down, Atem. I was just joking." Joey held up his hands as a peace offering. "Jeez, I was joking. Don't bite my head off."

Atem laughed finally. "Just don't call me that. Only Ryan gets to. Kids make you do things we never thought we'd have to do, right guys?" the others nodded in agreement.